Theory 18/Pipeline Engineering
Leaks Hide in Noise
The claim
The smallest detectable leak is set by the ratio of leak signal to flow-induced noise, not by sensor sensitivity, so a quiet sensor on a noisy line detects less.
01Mechanism
Leak detection compares upstream and downstream measurements; the signal must exceed the noise generated by normal flow, which rises with velocity.
02Predictions
- P1Detection should track the ratio.
- P2Sensitivity alone should mispredict across flow rates.
03Refutation
Detection tracking sensitivity would remove the noise term.